Defective
by Vampires Do NOT Sparkle
Summary: AU. 17 years & 9 months ago, Castiel fell from heaven,only to be born as a human diagnosed with high functioning Asperger Syndrome. Dean has always been called the 'stupid' brother, but that's not necessarily true.When the Pied Piper comes to town, and steals all the children, including Sam, no one believes them. It's up to them to work together and save the town. Pre-slash. R
1. Chapter 1

**Hi. I'm Vampires do not sparkle. And first off I would like to thank you for clicking on this story. This is my first proper Supernatural fanfiction, and my first serious attempt at a chapter story, so I hope it's not so bad you want to beat my face in with a shovel. So here's hoping. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural, or the original story of the Pied Piper. They belong to their respective owners. (not me).**

Chapter One: Have You Ever Seen The Rain.

The night was cool, a soft mist ran through the streets, twisting and curling into every corner of every ally way. A fact that Castiel had noted in it's strangeness as he went to bed, as it was summer, June. The twelfth to be precise, as Castiel always was. As he had stared out his window, onto the run-down street, he couldn't help but shiver. The mist was different, unnatural in a sense. It gave off a strange feeling, one that Castiel couldn't quite pinpoint, but disliked all the same. Closing his window, he had shaken his head, there was nothing wrong with the mist, how could there be. It was just his over active imagination. This wasn't one of the fairy tales everyone told him he was obsessed about, he needed to grow up, mist was just a natural form of water vapour, and there was nothing that could be strange about it. These were the thoughts that plagued his mind as he fell asleep.

Yet, as he woke up, at roughly two thirty that morning. All sensible thoughts left him. Instead, ones of danger and adventure took their place. What had woken him up? A shiver ran through him and he looked around, sitting up in his bed in the process. His room was freezing! Castiel dragged his body out of bed, his skin protesting to the sudden loss of warmth. He began to stride purposefully towards his window, which was suspiciously open, as he distinctly recalled closing it. He was almost there, when he tripped on a shoe, and fell face first on the ground.

"Ow." He said, in a flat monotone voice, it was only if one listened closely could they hear the slight tinge of annoyance. He was too tired for anything else, and with a groan, he pushed himself up. His arms buckling underneath him, still practically asleep. He instead, opted to push with his feet, and crawl towards the window sill, where he reached out with a tired hand, and pulled himself up.

Now standing at his full height, he saw the reason why it was so cold. He was amazed his room wasn't flooded, or at least damp. Castiel stood in wonder, as the rain pounded down, drenching everything in it's path. Small rivers had formed in the gutters, rivers he knew the small children would be playing in in the morning.

A strange scent filled his nose, and he gave a deep breath. It was quite peculiar. He could smell the normal freshness of rain. That was to be expected, but amongst it, was a strange metallic smell, along with another foreign scent. One he had never smelt before. It made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Castiel decided that he didn't like that smell. Not at all. Reaching up to close the window, he saw a sight that made him pause. A child. And another. In fact, there was a whole group of children, slowly walking down the street. Why on earth would children be out at this time of night ( morning really), let alone in this weather? He was about to call out and investigate, when he saw something extremely unexpected. It wasn't just children. There were teenagers too, people his age. In fact, Balthazar, Castiel's one true friend, was with them.

"Balthazar?" He called. Voice full of curiosity. Balthazar hated the rain. He said it made his hair frizz. Balthazar did not answer, not even a slight perk of the head to indicate he had heard him.

Louder, he called again. Still no answer. Except a moment later, his friends head looked up, and for a split second, their eyes locked. Balthazar looked panicked, his eyes sending one message, 'Stay' they yelled. And then he was gone, his eyes fading into a blue haze, unclear and unfocused, as he looked forward, and kept walking.

Castiel was never one to listen to orders, so it was with defiance he slipped on his shoes, and ran out of his room, and stepped out the front door, and joined the crowd.

SPN/SPN/SPN/SPN/SPN/SPN

Dean looked around in shock. How was it possible. Every single kid in the entire town had to be here. Walking through the main road to the centre of town. But why? Once again he tried desperately to gain his little brother's attention.

"Sammy? This isn't funny, we're getting soaked. Come back home." He yelled, as to be heard over the water in their ears. His little brother showed no indication he had heard him, and continued walking. Their dad was gonna kill him if Sammy got sick. Tired of being ignored, Dean grabbed Sam's arm, and attempted to pull him back. With surprising strength, his little brother pushed him off, and continued his fast pace toward the centre of town. The closer they got, the more anxious Dean felt. It was the only way to describe the feeling of dread that tickled his spine. The air felt as though it was charged with electricity, sending the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck to a standstill. Was that music he could hear? It was strange, distorted, as though it was flowing into his mind, and he almost felt compelled to go to the centre of the town himself, and a second later, he felt it leave, as though it was disgusted with his very being.

With an abrupt stop, he fell into the person/mindless zombie in front of him, and with a start he looked away from Sam. They were in the centre now, and a foul stench entered his nostrils. With a cringe of disgust he looked around, looking for the cause. At first he thought it was the rain, the rain that warped the image he was seeing. But as his eyes focused, he stepped back, gasping in shock. What the hell was that?

SPN/SPN/SPN/SPN/

The creature in front of Castiel couldn't be real. It was his imagination, just like all the adults told him as he was growing up. Monsters weren't real. But this, despite looking human, couldn't be anything but. Castiel stepped back, slightly behind Balthazar, as though his friend, in his trance like state could protect him. With it's tattered green and orange clothes, and rotting flesh, it was a terrifying sight.

Yet, despite it's horrid appearance, Castiel couldn't shake the feeling that it looked familiar. Where had he seen it? His eyes focused on it's arms, which seemed to be holding what looked like bagpipes. Funny, it appeared to be playing, yet he heard nothing. He perked his ears, desperately trying to hear something other than rain. For a split second, he thought he heard something, a note flit through his head, before disappearing again.

The creature stalked through the rows of children, stopping his music for a second to sniff here and there, or at least, that's what it looked like, admittedly, the large hat was obscuring most of Castiel's view. He may not have been able to see much, but he could smell, and what he could, made him almost glad he couldn't see. With a start he realised what that horrid smell was... death.

The thing came closer, and the stench increased. He tried to move, but his feet stayed, as though glued to the ground. The creature, flesh and all, continued his stride, until it reached him. Turning it's head, it sniffed, and with an awful breath, it leaned in, only mere centimetres from Castiel's face, water running down from it's hat, and whispered one word.

"Defective." It wheezed. It looked around, saw it was at the end of a line, and with a smirk in his direction, it disappeared, taking all the children, including his best friend with it.

It was in this moment, that the rain stopped. Castiel looked around in surprise, only to hear an anguished cry of...

"SAMMY!"

SPN/SPN/SPN/SPN/

So, that's the first chapter. I would like to thank you for reading. I should hopefully be updating soon. But first, tell me what you think. Please.

Please leave a review, it can be good or bad, It's just good to get feed back.

So see you soon.

- Vampires Do NOT Sparkle.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural.

Chapter Two: Kids.

"SAMMY!" Dean cried. He was gone. His little brother was gone. How? What was that thing? Why was he the only one left? With another yell, he grabbed his hair, pulling with all his might, as if that might magically return his brother to him. Who knows, with what he had just seen, it might work! Who the hell did that Walking Dead reject think he was, taking his little brother away from him, Especially in a way that made absolutely no sense. Sam had dissapeared from his very arms, naturally, Dean was highly confused. So he did the only thing he could think of. He began swearing,threatening, yelling anything he could think of at the sky, as though it, and it's suddenly missing rain were at fault.

When he was done, his breathing heavy, he turned around, he realised he wasn't as alone as he thought. There, standing before him, illuminated by the pale glow of the street light, was a boy. Well, not really a boy, a teenager, around his age. He had jet black hair ( though that could have been because it was wet...and at night), and from what he could see, bright blue eyes. He wore a black T-shirt, and long pyjama pants. They were completely drenched, just like his, but that wasn't what drew his attention. It was the bright blue converse on his feet, barely covered by his pants that caught his eye. Those shoes were an eye sore.

Looking the stranger over again, his eyes widened as he realised he wasn't a stranger at all. It was Castiel Novak, a kid in his English class at school. He could hardly recognise him without all the layers, especially that stupid trench coat on. He could see why. The kid was so skinny, he was surprised he didn't blow away in the light breeze that now surrounded them. He jumped slightly when Castiel spoke, interrupting the recent silence since his rant finished.

"That's quite the vocabulary you have there. Though I doubt the sky has a mother." He said with a tilt of the head. As though unsure the words he was saying were real.

Dean laughed. " That's what you have to say after what we just saw? Don't know if anyone's told you this, but, you're a weird kid."

Castiel seemed to take no offence, and instead shrugged in agreement.

"They have. Many times, and not nearly as polite as you, so to be honest, I'm used to it now. They're right anyway."

Something about the way he said it made Dean wish he hadn't said anything. Castiel's words, were filled with emotion, and one Dean recognised regularly in himself. Self-loathing. In a sudden flash of memory, Dean recalled all the times he had seen Castiel pushed into lockers, called a freak or even worse... poor kid. Dean may have hated himself, but at least it was of his own choice. From the way he spoke, it seemed as though Castiel only thought of himself badly because others did. Still, he said nothing of this, and instead much different words flowed out of his mouth.

"What's with the shoes?"

The question didn't even faze the kid, and with a look down at said shoes, he spoke with the most confidence he had ever heard.

"Oh, these? They're TARDIS blue." The smile on the kids face as he said this reminded him so much of Sam that his heart ached, and he realised that he still had no idea where his brother was. And with that, he turned away from Castiel, and resumed his verbal assault on the sky.

SPN/SPN/SPN/SPN/SPN/

The sun was bright, its rays filtering through the closed curtains of Castiel's room. Everything was peaceful, the birds singing, the sounds of leaves swaying in the breeze. A peacefulness that was broken by the sound of an alarm, the volume turned down low, blaring from a phone on his bedside table. Despite the low volume, it was enough to wake the sleeping boy, and with a groan, his arm crept from underneath the blankets, and grabbed the phone.

His raven coloured hair peaked out from the blankets, followed by drowsy eyes, and he fumbled for a second before turning the irritating sound off. Castiel let his head fall back against the pillow briefly before he threw off the covers, and crawled out of bed. Stumbling as his senses adjusted to being vertical, he walked to his cupboard, and grabbed his clothes. Without much of a glance, he pulled on a plain white T-shirt, with a button up shirt on top, struggled to get his black pants on without bending forward to much ( lest he fall on his face) and slipped on his jacket as he made his way to the bathroom down the hall.

After going through his normal routine of brushing his teeth and washing his face, he walked down the hall and turned right,into the kitchen. Checking the time on the microwave, he grabbed an apple for later. He was going to be late. How had he slept so long? The alarm was just a precaution... he almost always woke up at six AM...

In his panic at being late, he almost left without his trench coat. With a chuckle, he turned back and walked to his room. However, upon entering he froze. It wasn't there. It's customary place on the back of his desk chair was empty, and for a moment, his heart skipped a beat.

"MOM! Where's my coat?" he called out the open bedroom door, his voice only slightly shaking. What had happened to it? Where could it be? He couldn't go to school without it... it was his safety net. It made him feel safe and secure. If he couldn't find it...

He ran out the room and towards his mother, who he could hear in the laundry. As he entered, he sighed in relief. There it was. Safely folded in his mothers hands.

"It needed a clean, so I washed it yesterday afternoon, it just took a while to dry." She said, handing him the precious coat. " You better hurry sweetie, or you'll be late." She told him, and like the turning of a switch, he ran into the hall, pulled his trench coat on, grabbed his bag and sprinted out the door with a cry of "Bye Mom," and he was gone.

SPN/SPN/SPN/SPN/SPN/

Dean was having a bad day. A really bad day. His father was passed out drunk on the couch, and for once, Dean was thankful for it. That's how bad a day it was. The reason? If his dad had somehow managed to stay sober long enough to know that Dean had lost Sam to some rotting guy in tights, well... his day was bad enough as it was.

Dean had gotten home earlier that morning, around six AM actually. He had spent a solid three and a half hours give or take yelling at the sky, then himself, and then the sky again. He was so exhausted that given the chance he would've passed out on the floor right then. But instead, he was walking to school, bags under his eyes and voice hoarse, hoping to find some sense of normality. Who knows, maybe last night was some elaborate, really dick-ish prank. That when he got to school everyone would be there, and Sam would be laughing that high pitched laugh at him saying how stupid he had looked yelling at the sky all night.

So it was with a sense of hope that he had walked to school that morning, only to find it empty of students, and full of panicking teachers. Hope slowly falling, his eyes raked across the school courtyard, and focused on the place Sammy usually stood with his friends before class. It was empty. In fact, every place was empty. His own friends were missing too.

As he stepped forward, a teacher he recognised to be his old art teacher saw him, froze for a second and ran forward, calling out to the others.

"I got one!" She called behind her shoulder, her normally controlled hair in a frizzy mess. She grabbed his shoulders, shaking him slightly.

"Where are they? Do you know?" she cried in a desperate voice. By this time the other teachers had surrounded him, all crying out similar questions.

" I don't know..." Was all he was able to say before a chorus of "What do you mean you don't know!"'s filled his ears. They inched in closer, and Dean was beginning to feel very claustrophobic. His eyes darting around for any possible escape route. He found none. He was trapped, he had no where to run. His heart began to race. He felt light headed. He was gonna fain-

"Step away from the kid folks. He looks like he's gonna faint." Came the voice of what Dean perceived to be an angel. The teachers moved away, and Dean leant forward, hands on knees, gasping for breath. A hand softly patted him on the back.

" My name's Detective Gabriel Novak. I need to speak with this kid, so back off, go sharpen pencils or something." He told them, flashing a shiny badge. Dean was immediately grateful when they did, retreating back into the school building like mice.

"You okay buddy?" The detective said, tone soft and filled with concern.

Dean took a few more shaky breaths before leaning back, bringing his head upward slowly. He cringed at the rush of blood to his head after being essentially upside down for so long.

" Yeah. Thanks for getting rid of the mole people. I thought I was gonna be sacrificed for a second there." Dean said, his voice taking on its normal mocking tone. Gabriel chuckled.

"No problem. Besides, I couldn't allow my sole witness to be sacrificed and thrown into a volcano could I?" He replied, his voice full of laughter.

Dean straightened. "Sole witness? To what?"

"Look around you kid. Not another one of you squirts in sight. So understandably, I need to ask you some questions."

At that remark, Dean recalled his strange encounter with another kind last night. " Novak? You're not related to Castiel Novak are you?"

Surprise filtered through Gabriel's face, and suddenly his eyes narrowed.

"We're cousins. Why?" His voice stern.

"I think I talked to him last night. He had 'TARDIS blue' shoes. He commented on my vocabulary." Dean said uncertainly. After all, he wasn't completely sure last night happened.

The result was instantaneous. With a quick nod, Gabriel said "That's him."

He spun Dean around so he could look him in the eye.

"Dean, this is very important. What time did this happen?"

Dean was slightly shocked at the look in Gabriel's eyes. It was one of concern. A concern so similar to what Dean felt for Sam that he responded without hesitation.

"Around five to three I think."

Gabriel looked puzzled. " Why would Cas be out that late? For that matter, Dean. Why were you out that late? Especially on a school night?" He enquired.

" I was following Sammy, My little brother."

"Why would Sam be ou-" Gabriel stopped speaking as he saw something over Dean's shoulder. Relief washed though him as he let go of Dean and ran forward.

"CAS! You're okay!" He shouted as he ran towards the cousin he saw as his younger brother. Forgetting Castiel's issue with touch, he enveloped him in a tight hug.

It took all of Castiel's will power to not jump away, but even as it was he cringed. With a small stutter, he replied.

"O-Of course I'm okay, why wouldn't I be?" He asked curiously.

Gabriel pulled back, leaving only his hands on Castiel's shoulders. Noticing his discomfort with the contact, he took his hands off, and stepped back.

"You don't know?"

"Know what?"

"The kids Cas. They're missing."

SPN/SPN/SPN/SPN/SPN/

And that's it. Chapter two. Sorry the chapters have been a bit short, but I'm working on it. And can I just say, that considering I'm a proud Australian, writing Mum as "Mom" really took some effort. But since this story is set in America, it kind of had to be...

Please review.

-Vampires Do NOT Sparkle.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: The Kids Aren't Alright.

"The kids Cas. They're missing."

At those words, a flood of memory rushed through Castiel's mind. He winced. It made his brain hurt to be honest, as though his mind was fighting to hide the memories, why he had no idea. He remembered waking up to rain, but it wasn't rain, not the normal kind anyway... and Balthazar...

Castiel's head shot up, and he looked Gabriel in the eyes, panic coursing through him.

"Balthazar! He was walking..." Castiel paused, turned his head to the left, a confused look on his face. " All the children were. It was the middle of the night... why were they out so late..." He appeared to be lost in his own musings, as when he turned back, Gabriel could see the blank look in his eyes. However, Castiel's eyes widened as he saw something, or someone, over Gabriel's shoulder.

"YOU!" He shouted, pushing past Gabriel as he ran forward. "You were there! Why were you there? Did you do this? Another sick joke! Let's all make fun of the weird kid huh! Where's Balthazar!" He had a crazed look in his eyes, and Gabriel had to hold him back, surprised at his outburst.

Dean responded in kind.

"A JOKE! You think this is a joke! WHERE'S SAM! What have you done with my brother!?" He shouted angrily in response.

Letting go of his cousin, Gabriel ran forward, placing himself between the two angry teenagers, attempting in some way to protect his cousin from the oncoming storm that was Dean Winchester.

"How about we all calm down. There has to be a reasonable explanation for this, but we need to work together if we're gonna figure it out." He said, attempting to keep the peace.

"But he-"

"SHUT UP CAS!"

Gabriel almost felt sorry for raising his voice as Castiel backed down, his shoulders pulling in as he tried to make himself as small as possible. Actually scratch that, He did feel sorry. He knew Cas was sensitive to sound, and his parents had fought a lot before their divorce two years ago... He must've heard those words a lot...

"I'm sorry Cas, I'm not mad at you, I promise. I shouldn't have raised my voice." Gabriel said in a soft tone, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Dean freeze, his anger turning to curiosity, and then realisation. Gabriel let the hand that was previously on Dean's chest fall, opting to turn and face Cas completely.

"Are you okay Ca-" Gabriel began to say, only to be cut of as Cas cringed back, a hiss of pain leaving his lips as his hand moved up to clutch his head.

Flashes of colour and movement danced before his eyes, and Castiel fell to the ground, Gabriel barely holding him up. He was remembering... everything.

The smell of rotting flesh, metallic unnatural rain, and horrid breath across his face. He remembered the dripping of water from his hair as the rain stopped. A strange conversation with Dean... and a whispered word of "Defective."

SPN/SPN/SPN/SPN/SPN/

"Defective"

Dean felt shock run through him as the word fell out of the unconscious boy's mouth. That word had haunted him all night, echoing through his mind no matter what he did. Why had Castiel said that, that word in particular? Did he know? No he couldn't. No one knew, not even the school. But maybe...

"Dean! Hello, De-an? You there?" Came an obnoxious voice. Gabriel. Dean looked down, and was surprised to see Gabriel struggling to hold the dead weight of his cousin.

"Little help pretty boy, or do you not want to break a nail."

With a chuckle Dean bent down to help carry Castiel over to a nearby tree. Leaning the boy against the rough bark, Dean couldn't help but reply.

" I don't know what you needed help for. This kid is light as hell. You must be getting old detective. Is that a Gray hair I see?"

Gabriel scowled, but soon laughed.

"Probably not, but if it is, take a good long look boy, cause this is your future, I'm only twenty five." Dean paled, but was about to make what was surely going to be a spectacularly witty comeback when Castiel stirred.

Eye lids fluttered before bright blue eyes were revealed. Castiel shook his head, as though ridding himself of an unwanted thought, and looked at Gabriel.

"What happened? Why am I lying on a tree?" he said, his voice filled with confusion.

Gabriel opened his mouth, but was soon interrupted.

"You fainted Bright Eyes. We had to haul your skinny ass over here."

Gabriel smirked at Castiel's apparent new nickname, but said nothing.

"I fainted, why?" came his confused response.

"That's what I would like to know. You looked like you were in a lot of pain." Gabriel finally spoke.

"I remembered... everything." Was Castiel's slow reply. Gabriel straightened.

" What do you remember? Do you know who took the children?" He was in detective mode.

Castiel just became more confused. Everything was so loud. Gabriel's voice. The birds in the tree above him, Dean's breathing... he could hear a heart erratically beating. It might have been his own but he couldn't tell. All he knew was that his head hurt, and that everything was so LOUD! Even the light hurt, but he couldn't cover his ears and eyes.

With a whimper he curled in on himself, resting his head on his knees as his hands covered his ears, trying to lessen the noise. That just brought more noise, in the form of a concerned cousin.

"Cas, are you ok? Cas what's wrong?" his concern blinded him to the actual problem.

Dean watched as the detective seemed to make the kid cringe more, and he realised what was wrong.

"I think it's too loud, give him a second." Dean whispered, and Gabriel nodded in response. Sammy used to have migraines, and would always complain of everything being too loud, and would quite often look like Castiel did now. Dean felt a pang in his heart at the thought of Sam. Was he okay? Where was he? What if he was hurting right now and Dean wasn't there to help him.

With an internal sigh, Dean decided to do the next best thing, Take care of Castiel.

Leaning down, he took of his thick leather jacket, lightly pushed Castiel's head off his knees, and wrapped the jacket around his ears and eyes, hoping to dim the light and sound. Castiel was so lost in the pain, he didn't even feel it, until he noticed the distinct lack of light and sound, and the warm body in his personal space. Someone was sitting close to him... very close to him.

Every fibre of his very being shouted at him to move, to jump away from the strange contact. Rip the foreign cloth of his head and run home. But with a sigh, he realised that whatever the cloth was, it helped. And so instead, he leaned into whoever was there, and let the world fade away.

SPN/SPN/SPN/SPN/SPN/

This was awkward. Very awkward. So there Dean was. Sitting against a tree with some kid he barely knew practically lying in his lap, and had been for an hour now...and to be honest, the glare Gabriel had been giving him on and off the entire time was unnerving.

After covering the kid's eyes and ears, he had calmed down a lot. Dean wouldn't have blamed him for falling asleep, except that's what he had done. Or at least, Dean was pretty sure Castiel was asleep. Going from the kids breathing and relaxed muscles it sure seemed like it. And dean didn't mind. Honest. But... he his back was getting a bit sore from the odd angle he was lying in... and... Gabriel.

At first, they had been surprised when Castiel had essentially nuzzled into Dean's chest, but had accepted that he was in pain, and the darkness helped. So Gabriel began asking Dean questions about the night before. Where did they go? Why were they there? What happened to the children? Whispered of course, as they were still unsure about Castiel's apparent super hearing, which according to Gabriel, was actually normal for him, and that the migraine had simply enhanced it. Dean felt for the kid. From what he had seen with Sam, sensitive hearing with headaches was bad enough, he couldn't imagine having it all the time. It probably caused the headaches half the time.

So that was fine. The light conversation passed the time, and it allowed Gabriel to actually do his job, as Dean had discovered that he was the lead detective for the case. Not that Gabriel was happy with Dean's answers. Dean hadn't told him about the rotting tight wearer, he barely believed it himself, there was no way he could expect Gabriel to. So instead he told him everything else, about how he had followed Sam out into the rain, and the crowd of seemingly hypnotized children. At the mention of rain, Gabriel had stopped him.

"Dean, there was no rain last night. It hasn't rained in weeks." he had said. However Dean had insisted, only to stop when Castiel moved. And moved was putting it lightly. The kid slipped and practically fell into Dean's lap. That was when the glares started. But there wasn't really anything Dean could do. He was hesitant to touch him, afraid of moving him the wrong way and causing more pain. So he let him be. Apparently to Gabriel, that was the wrong choice. So instead of moving his sleeping cousin, or risk waking him up by talking to loudly, he had opted to glare. And glare he did.

So when Castiel finally began to stir, both Dean and Gabriel sighed in relief. The boy shifted, and with the help of Dean's steadying hand, Castiel sat up. Only for him to begin to claw desperately at the jacket wrapped firmly around his eyes and ears.

" Whoa, calm down Bright Eyes. Let me help you.." Dean whispered as he carefully unraveled the jacket, making sure to be mindful about not poking the kid in the eye.

When the jacket was finally off, Castiel cringed at the sudden brightness, and groaned. It was so bright, his eyes stung as they watered. Closing them for a second he took a deep breath and regained his bearings. He could hear movement to his right, and more directly in front of him. So Dean was still there. Opening his eyes, he allowed them to adjust, and he saw something surprising. Gabriel was in front of him... and not Dean. He had leaned into someone on his right... he turned to look, and sure enough, there was Dean, stretching his body out like a cat. As though he had been sitting in the same position for a while...

As the puzzle pieces clicked, Castiel couldn't stop the blush flooding his cheeks, or the way his skin crawled at the thought of touch. Sleeping on Gabriel, that he could cope with. He had done it before when he was younger and his parents had been fighting, but Dean... he barely knew Dean at all...

Gabriel grinned at him. "Have a nice sleep there princess? You slept like a baby. Must've been the pillow." He mocked in a soft yet still somehow obnoxious voice.

Castiel's cheeks reddened further, but before he could comment, Dean beat him to it.

"Damn straight it was the pillow. I better be comfortable the amount of times Sammy's fallen asleep on me. I think I've evolved into a more advanced species specifically designed for being a pillow. It's called being a brother." He said in such a tone, that despite being slightly irritated with him, Gabriel couldn't help but smile.

" I hear ya on that one pretty boy."

Castiel just watched in slight confusion, with a small smile on his face,

SPN/SPN/SPN/SPN

The cave was damp and cold, and smelt of dead flesh. Sam could do nothing but gag as he woke up, unsure of his surroundings.

"Dean?" He called. His voice bouncing off the dripping stone walls. It was pitch black, and he couldn't see a thing. Feeling his pocket, he gave a cry when he realised his phone wasn't there. He was in his pajamas... when had that happened? A shrill tone filled the air and the cave was suddenly filled with a soft blue light. For a split second he was relieved. Someone had a phone.

"Are you gonna answer that?" He said into the now semi darkness. He could see shapes. The shadows of people surrounded him. He wasn't alone, and that made him feel better.

Yet, no one answered. To him, or the phone. No shadow moved. Nothing made a sound, except for the phone, unaware to the silence around it. A feeling of dread settled at the bottom of his stomach, and he slowly moved forward, toward the phone.

He was almost there, when it stopped. The light gone, and he was blind again.

" Hello..." once again his voice echoed. He was scared now... and much as he hated to admit it. He hated the dark. Hated it with a passion. But he had no choice, so with a determined mind, he pushed forward, and shot his hand out to where he last saw the phone. Fumbling, he finally managed to grab it. Feeling for a button, he pressed it.

With a sigh of relief, he used it to look for its owner. And screamed.

That's why no one had answered... they were dead. Scrambling back, he used the phone to look around, and almost screamed again. He was surrounded. From his limited range of light, he could see maybe five people... if you could call them that...

Sam was no doctor, but they didn't look like they had died from natural causes. Anything but. Their corpses were dry, and shriveled as though the very life had been sucked out of them.

San crawled away, to the far side of the cave, putting as much distance as he could from the lifeless bodies. Using the phone to light up his way, he fell against the wall and took a deep breath. He could do this. As long as he had light he could do this.

Curling in on himself, he pressed the button on the phone again so it wouldn't go out. He could do this. Maybe he could call someone.

Lifting the phone up to his face, he dialed Dean's number. Dean would know what to do. Dean would save him. He listened to it begin to ring...

"Pick up... Pick up... please pick up!" He cried. The ringing stopped. Followed by the best sound Sam had ever heard. His brother.

"Hel-" was all Dean managed to say, all Sam could hear before the phone died. It had run out of battery... And Sam was left in the dark.

"Dean..."

SPN/SPN/SPN/SPN/SPN/SPN/

Hope you like it. Sorry it's been a while. Please Review.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey... it's me. We have to talk... ABOUT HOW AWESOME YOU GUYS ARE! First off, I would like to thank anyone who has not only read this story, but favorited, followed or reviewed. You guys are all fantastic. To the lovely guest ( I wish I knew your name) who was curious about Why Cas fell, and to anyone who is just curious. All will be explained in due time. Also, yes, I am naming my chapters after song titles. I don't own them either.

I DO NOT OWN SUPERNATURAL... or the Story of the Pied Piper ( however I do own my version of him) They belong to their respective owners.

Chapter Four: Promises.

Dean was thinking, something all his teachers, and his father, would say was a dangerous thing. Normally this wouldn't actually be true, but given what he was thinking about, well... it was dangerous, at least to Dean's concious. You see, Dean was thinking about Castiel. Why had he reacted that way earlier... when he had been fine talking to him the night before. What did he mean by "another sick joke"?

'Another sick joke...'

' Let's all make fun of the weird kid..."

Those words had been swirling around his mind for the past hour. They'd come down to the Police Station when it had become apparent that school was out for the day. Turns out all you need to shut down a school for a while was a severe lack of students. So there Dean was, sitting in a god awful hard wooden chair by Gabriel's desk as Gabriel interviewed Castiel. The difference, _They_ were sitting on a very comfortable looking couch shoved up against the closest wall. Talk about unfair. With the way the detective had smirked at him, Dean was sure this was pay back for what he had deemed the 'lap incident' in his head. So only half listening to what they were saying, Dean had begun to ponder Castiel's earlier words. What had he meant? Dean had never deliberately done anything mean to hi- Dean paled.

No! He couldn't still remember _That_ could he? Surely he had let it go like Dean had... surely he knew that Dean hadn't meant for it to happen...

SPN/SPNSPN/Flash back/SPN/SPN

Dean walked down the school halls nervously. He jumped when a locker slammed somewhere close by, echoing in his ears. He looked next to him, only to find the space empty. This was new. Just like everything else, but he could do it. Sam was probably having the time of his life, over in the middle school section. Sam wouldn't be worrying over silly things like if maybe this time they would finally be able to stay, or if this would be the school he finally made friends. Real friends. Friends that would make sure to stay in touch when he inevitably left again. And there was no way Sam was worried over whether this school might actually be able to help him, not just call him stupid for not being able to- No! It was fine!

"You gotta think positive Dean. It's the only way you'll get through this. Sammy's fine. You're fine." Dean mumbled to himself, his fingers curled into fists so hard that his knuckles were white. He could do this he could-

"Who are you talking to?" Came a light, inquiring voice.

Dean jumped. " Jesus. Don't sneak up on a guy like that!" He shouted, his hand grabbing his chest, " you'll give me a heart attack!"

The boy simply looked to Dean's chest, and then back, his face blank.

" You're heart appears to be fine. Also, it is statistically unlikely that someone as young as you could suffer from a heart attack."

Dean stared. And stared. "You're weird. Has anyone ever told you that?"

The boy cocked his head to the side, his blue eyes curious. " Only my cousin Gabriel, but I believe that was in jest."

Dean held out his hand. " Dean, Winchester."

The boy looked at the hand, then to Dean's face, and without accepting it, stated his name.

" Castiel, Novak. Are you new here, I don't think I've ever seen you before."

Dean nodded. And Castiel smiled.

"Excellent, you can be my friend. I'll show you to class..." Then if on second thought, he turned back. "That is what friends do right?" He looked at Dean anxiously.

Dean just smiled back. " Yeah. Hey, Castiel's a little long, how about I call you Cas?"

Maybe this time...

SPN/SPN/SPN/ End flash back/SPN/SPN/

Dean sighed. That had been two years ago. He had been so happy. He had met Balthazar, Castiel's only other friend, and they had actually gotten along quite well. For once in his life, Dean actually felt like he had real friends. He was happy. It had only lasted two weeks though...

SPN/ SPN/ Sorry, another Flash Back/ SPN/ SPN/

"HEY WINCHESTER!"

Dean turned around, surprised to hear his name, as the only two friends he had were standing beside him.

"Yeah?" Dean's eyes widened.

It was Stan Crawford, probably the biggest jerk he had ever had the unfortunate circumstance to come across. Stan made Lucifer look like the angel he actually was.

"Where do you think you're going?" Stan's harsh reply echoed through the hall, everyone had gone silent.

" To lunch. What's it to you?" Dean said, his attitude rearing it's head.

"Dean, don't engage him." Balthazar whispered, grabbing Dean's arm.

" We need another player on the team, we heard you used to play at your old school, stop hanging out with those freaks and we'll see if you're any good." Stan said, his eyes narrowing, staring into Dean's soul.

Dean went to step forward, prepared to beat the bitch into the ground, but the hand on his arm held him back.

" You're one to talk, what, did you get dropped on your face as a kid... repeatedly."

A hiss rippled through the crowd in anticipation.

Anger filtered through Stan's features. " At least I had a Mom to drop me!" He yelled, and Dean took a step back... hurt and anger crossed his face briefly before it turned into stone, the twitch of his jaw the only indication he wasn't a statue. He went to run and give the bastard the ass kicking he deserved, but Balthazar wouldn't have it. Pulling Dean back with surprising strength, he leaned in close.

"He's not worth it Dean. He doesn't know, just breath and let it go. He's not worth it."

Dean sagged down, leaning back, he let Balthazar pull him away, Castiel following behind them, understanding something bad had happened, but not quite comprehending exactly what it was.

That hadn't been the last they'd seen Stan, or his groupies that week. Everyone they passed in the hall would leer and shout at them, Castiel, for some reason, getting it the worst. He was called freak, weird, and every other name possible. People would move seats if he sat down a row away in class. He didn't voice it, but both Dean and Balthazar could see the confusion and hurt in his eyes when it would happen.

It was on the Friday Dean had snapped.

It was lunch time when it had happened. Dean had claimed that he was going to the bathroom, and had left the cafeteria, storming down to the football field, a piece of paper clutched in his fist.

"CRAWFORD! COME OUT AND PLAY YOU BITCH!" He shouted as he neared the field, his target in sight.

The people surrounding him went silent and stared, and Stan walked over to greet him.

"Winchester, what can I do for you?" He said calmly, his voice oozing arrogance. A smirk on his face. A smirk that left rather rapidly when it met Dean's fist. Stan hit the ground, hard.

"MAKE IT STOP!" He yelled, anger seeping throughout his every pore. The piece of paper he had held so tightly was thrown to the ground onto Stan's chest.

Stan rubbed his jaw and winced, grabbing the piece of balled up paper, he stood up, and upon reading it, smirked again. Dean restrained himself from punching him again... barely.

It had taken a while to read it, his brain having difficultly processing what his eyes were seeing, but once he did, Dean had seen red. ' You're a freak, kill yourself.' had been scrawled across the torn piece of paper, and thrown onto their lunch table. Dean had unfortunately not seen who. But he knew who had started it.

" Stop what?" Stan's voice grated on Dean's frayed nerves.

"You know what!" He growled. Stan stood back.

"I'll do it. I'll stop it all, no one will bug the freak-" a predatory sound slipped from Dean's throat. - " Castiel any more. It'll all stop. I promise. On one condition."

"What?"

" That you leave him alone too. Leave him completely. Don't even smile in his direction when you pass in the hall. Ignore him, you never met anyone named Castiel. He does not exist. No getting that Balthazar kid to send messages either. You go cold turkey. Do that, and I'll make sure he never gets bothered at all. No one will say or do anything to him, as long as you do the same." Stan smiled. A genuine smile. The bastard was loving this. Making Dean miserable.

Dean was shocked. Why would he possibly want to this. What did Crawford gain by destroying the only happiness Dean had felt in a long time.

" Why..." was Dean's broken reply.

"That's for me to know, and you to never find out. Do we have a deal?" Stan held out his hand.

Dean just stared, much like Castiel had when they first met.

" And you'll stop all of it?"

"I promise." a secret smile went through the crowd, not that Dean noticed, he was too absorbed in his thoughts.

Dean shook his hand, his eyes stinging.

"Deal." and at last, his voice broke.

Dean never went back to lunch.

SPN/END FLASH BACK/SPN/

Castiel looked over at Dean, curious by the stillness of his body. He had been sitting there, head in his hands, for the past fifteen minutes, and Castiel was worried, was the chair really that uncomfortable? Castiel cringed, yes, yes it was.

"Cas? So it was raining? And you went outside?" Gabriel's voice broke through the wall of Castiel's world, and he turned to look at his cousin.

" I was following Balthazar." Gabriel sighed. He had heard that five times in the past half an hour.

"Why was Balthazar outside in the rain?" He hoped he got a straight answer this time. If he got another 'I don't know' he was gonna strangle hi-

"I don't know."

"Ugh" was the only recognisable sound other than mumbled profanities as his hand slid over his face. What had the kid so distracted. Castiel hadn't been this bad in years. Following his cousin's gaze, he found his answer. Dean Winchester. Of course.

The bastard hadn't even opened his mouth in an hour and he still managed to distract Cas. Didn't he even appreciate that Gabriel had a job to do! He had every single parent in the entire town badgering him. He understood that, it was their children, but when you get a lot of missing kids, and two very uncooperative witnesses, things get difficult.

"What else do you remember Cas?" He asked, "anything that really stood out?"

" There was a man." Was Castiel's vague answer.

What! This was new! " Now we're getting somewhere." He whispered to himself, and then, " Do you remember anything about the man? Anything at all?" Maybe this was the lead he needed. If Cas could remember more then maybe...

" He was dead."

Gabriel sighed. Great. Castiel's imagination was acting up again. So a dead man took all the kids. Yeah... he could really sell that to the rest of the department. That would so get him a promotion.

"all right. Pretty boy, Your turn."

...

No response.

"DEAN!" Gabriel's voice called out, harsh.

The boy jumped. Looking around he relaxed, it wasn't his father. It was Gabriel. He was okay, his dad didn't know about Sam yet. He was okay. With a sigh, he got off the hardback chair. Stretching out, his back cracked and he groaned.

Making his way over to the soft couch, he sat down in Castiel's recently vacated spot, as the kid had gone to sit at the desk, and was currently reading a rather thick book.

Dean struggled for the title to make sense, and eventually he was rewarded with the only word that would make sense. 'Fairy Tales'.

" So Dean, What happened after you saw this mysterious rain?" Gabriel asked.

"You wouldn't believe me."

" Yes I will. I'm a police officer, I'm trained to believe anything if the evidence fits." He reassured him.

"Promise?" Dean asked hesitantly, looking much younger than his seventeen years alive would suggest.

" Promise." Gabriel said seriously.

Dean didn't know why he believed he would keep it, after all, Stan hadn't, but this was his brother, and he had to try...

" A dead guy in tights stole my brother." Dean told him, eyes, landing on Castiel, never leaving.

"Oh."

SPN/ANOTHER FLASH BACK/SPN/

Dean walked the halls, surrounded by people but completely alone. He sure felt that way. It was Monday, and he'd spent the entire weekend with in his and Sam's room, pretending that losing Balthazar and Castiel was just like all the times he'd moved schools. He'd lost friends before, he could do it again. He just needed time. Only, time had run out, And he was left alone with his thoughts, forced to go to school. Forced to be near some of the best friends he had ever had, despite only knowing them for two weeks, but unable to reach out, to smile, to say how sorry he was for what he had to do... but he couldn't stand by and watch as his friends, Cas especially, be mercilessly bullied because of him. He couldn't cope...

"DEAN!" No... not him. Why god, why.

"DEAN!" The voice. That beautiful, painful voice called again, louder this time.

"DEAN!" Two voices now. He kept walking, but a hand pulled him back.

He turned around, dread filling his heart.

Balthazar held him in place, the hold on him leaving bruises on his arm. Balthazar knew. Dean didn't know how, but he knew. Cas looked at him, blissful ignorance in his eyes. Dean couldn't do this to him... But he was doing this for him! Cas would be better off without him. The bullying would stop before it scarred him forever, and Dean could bear this pain knowing Cas, his first real friend, was okay.

"Dean, we we're calling you for ages, you mustn't have heard us. It is pretty loud in here." Castiel sounded so innocent. So kind and naive. It made his heart break to do this, but it was for his own good. He almost cried when Castiel placed his hand on Dean's shoulder. That was the first and now, only touch they would ever share. Castiel felt comfortable enough to touch Dean's jacket... why it was on him... even if it was only for a second, he knew it meant a lot for Cas to even attempt such a thing. It was an act of friendship... and Dean was about to throw it back in his face...

Wrenching himself out of Balthazar's grip, and Castiel's light touch at the same time. He screamed.

" LET GO OF ME YOU FREAK!"

Hurt and confusion flooded Castiel's features. Anger went through Balthazars. And Dean's heart cracked.

"Dean, What do you mean? You've been encouraging me to embrace the concept of social interaction you call a man-hug. Did I do it wrong?"

He had, but even so, Dean didn't care. That was a huge step... and he had ruined it. Was ruining it.

" I DON'T CARE! WHY WOULD I WANT YOU TO TOUCH ME! YOU'RE WEIRD!" Another crack.

"...Dean... I thought we were friends?" Cas' voice was shaking.

"You believed that," he laughed. Another crack. " WAKE UP LOSER, IT WAS ALL A JOKE! WHY WOULD I BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? YOU'RE A FREAK! STAY AWAY FROM ME!"

Tears welled in Castiel's eyes as the blue clouded over, and Castiel turned and ran down the hall, the laughs of the surrounding crowd following him. Balthazar shot Dean a look of pure disgust, and a little bit of pity, before running down to where Cas had fallen, having run as far as he could before his sobs stopped him. The Crowd of students cheered and laughed as the bell rang and they went to their classes. Leaving Dean alone with the sounds of Castiel's sobs echoing in the now desolate hallway.

Dean turned and walked out the door, as the door closed behind him, and the sobs vanished, his heart shattered and a solitary tear rolled down his cheek...

Two days later, Stan broke his promise.

SPN/SPN/SPN/SPN/SPN/

AUTHORS NOTE: Please... don't kill me...

Let me explain. I needed to add some background to the story, also, now you know why Cas acted so aggressively when He remembered talking to Dean after everything that happened.

So yeah...

Please review, even if it's just to yell at me. I appreciate it.


	5. Chapter 5

I do not own supernatural or the Pied Piper, they belong to their respective owners.

Chapter 5: Strange Days

Dean regretted the words the moment he saw Gabriel's face fall. Dammit. He should've kept his mouth shut. Now he was gonna think Dean was crazy. And he wasn't! Mentally unstable maybe, considering the choices he had made all his life, but not actually crazy crazy.

"Dean, I don't have time for bogus witness reports. I have every parent in town hounding on my door to find their children, so please don't waste my time." Gabriel's voice was sad, as though he thought Dean was making this up for attention.

Dean was shocked. " You think I would make this up? My brother is out there! He could be hurt, or worse," Dean took a deep breath, "and all because I couldn't protect him! So when I say a dead guy in tights took my brother, you gotta believe me."

Gabriel seemed to think, and then looked at Dean sadly.

"Dean, I don't doubt that something happened to your brother, and that you most likely witnessed it, but don't you think that maybe... just maybe your mind has made up this dead man in tights to cope with the fact you couldn't stop him from taking your brother? That maybe it was just a normal man?" Gabriel's voice was soft, with a start Dean realised that Gabriel was trying to comfort him... his eyes narrowed.

" So what? You think that I couldn't deal with the fact that I wasn't strong enough, smart enough, to stop an ordinary man from taking Sammy, so I made him a monster? I'M NOT CRAZY!"

"Can you?" Was his calm reply.

Dean was confused. " Can I what?"

"Deal with the fact that you couldn't save Sam."

Dean glared. " I'm dealing just fine..."

" Then you didn't try hard enough." Gabriel's voice was stern. Stern enough that Dean thought of his father.

"What? I did the best I cou-"

"Clearly you didn't Dean. Otherwise you wouldn't be 'Fine'. If you really cared, you would've done all you could, and succeeded. It's your brother Dean. I know that since the moment he was taken, millions of scenarios have crossed your mind. What if you had held on tighter? What if you had fought back? What if you had stopped him from going outside in the first place? All these thought's would've run through your head. You will ALWAYS think " what if I had done this instead." Gabriel watched as Dean's jaw twitched. So he kept on going. " If you really cared about your brother, you would've been able to save him. You would've found a way."

Dean broke. His voice dangerously low.

" No. You listen to me you smug bastard. I did everything I could! It was like he was under some spell, he wouldn't listen to me. He was so strong too. It was like something was controlling him. It was the DEAD GUY! He is real. He took my brother and there was nothing I could do about it!I'm a good brother! So don't you dare try and tell me anything else!" Dean's breathing was heavy as he glared at Gabriel. How dare that son of a bitch try and make him feel bad for something that wasn't even his fau- Dean stopped glaring. That little bitch.

Gabriel smiled. " Feel better? There was nothing you could do Dean. So don't beat yourself up about it like I know you were doing. Something terrible has happened. Maybe not a dead guy-" Dean glared again. " But something. And it was out of your control. So don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Us big br-"

" GABRIEL!" They turned around. Gabriel's eyes widened.

"Oh boy..." He whispered.

" You mind telling me why you're not out there searching for these missing kids? I have parents calling me every minute!"

Captain Crawford was a lot like his son. A bully. And right now, he looked the part.

Big bulging muscles, tall and stocky, not to mention the reddish tinge to his face from dealing with concerned parents. With his eyes popping out of his head, he was a terrifyingly intimidating sight, and Dean couldn't help but cringe.

"I'm interviewing a witness right now sir-"

" Not that freak cousin of yours is it? You know he's not a reliable witness." He barked, voice sounding so similar that Dean had a hard time not seeing the man's son.

Gabriel stiffened. Dean looked at him, and saw a familiar glint in his eyes. He knew that feeling all to well. Looking at Castiel, who was sitting in Gabriel's puffy chair reading a book, hadn't stopped reading, too immersed in his favourite book to notice the world around him. Dean sighed, at least Castiel didn't have to hear that kind of abuse in a place where he should feel safe. Even so, Dean couldn't stop himself from interrupting.

" He's Interviewing me sir. I'm a witness."

The man turned to him, and it was as though he was seeing him for the first time. He hadn't even noticed Dean when he had stormed in. 'Great police work' Dean couldn't help but think.

"And you are?" The man asked in a sickly sweet tone.

" Dean Winchester...sir." He replied. He didn't think the man deserved to be called 'sir' but respect was something his father had drilled into him from a young age.

The man's eyes focused, and his brow furrowed. " Winchester? I know you. You're friends with Stan aren't you?" Dean's jaw twitched. He wanted so badly to hit the man with a shovel, but he knew the guy didn't know any better. He wondered how many reports of violence the Captain got from the school without knowing his son had been the cause.

/Flash back/

It had been two days. TWO! And Dean was already losing it. He wanted nothing more but to run up to Cas and Balthazar and beg forgiveness. To say that he was sorry, and he'd never do anything like that again... but he couldn't. Any contact outside of their shared classes would lead to another onslaught of terror towards his best friends... specifically Cas, and he couldn't let that happen... couldn't let him down like that.

Dean went to leave the cafeteria, where he had been watching his friends from across the room. Not in a creepy, stalker way mind you. Just to make sure they were safe. That was all. That they were happy, not that they looked it, but they would. They'd forget about him, and move on. He was just walking out of the doors, when he heard something that made him sick to his stomach.

" Hey freak. Where'd you learn to dress? Forrest Gump or Rain Man?"

The annoying high pitched voice of some bitch filtered through the room to Dean's ears, and he turned around.

"No... My mother bought them for me... I do not know why she chose these particular clothes over the others available." Came the most beautiful voice Dean had ever, and would ever hear. Eyes locking on his table, his eyes widened. There was Cas, sitting there with his book of Fairy Tales, in his navy sweater and light coloured pants. He had a look of confusion on his face, and then, they laughed. The group of bitches laughed. And pointed. Then, they did something that made Dean seethe. The school was serving tomato soup today... and so were they. In one swift, synchronised moment, they upended their bowls of soup...onto Cas and his book.

Dean ran. Faster than he ever had before, pushing through the crowd, Cas' cries as the liquid burnt his skin fuelling him on. As a rule, Dean had sworn to never hit girls. Pushing his way through the last group of spectators, he launched himself towards the girl directly in front of Cas, shoving them away with his shoulder, them crashing to the ground. Balthazar was already on Cas' other side, trying to calm the boy down. Looking at his friend, he saw the desperation in Balthazars eyes.

"Let's get him to the bathroom. We need to get cold water on him." Dean barked, carefully grabbing Cas, and with Balthazar's help, carried him to the closest bathroom down the hall. Paying no attention to the girl behind him on the floor, crying over her possibly broken nose.

"You're gonna be okay Cas. Just calm down." Dean said to the distressed boy. Dragging him into the bathroom, they placed him by the sink. He surveyed the damage.

"Shit!" The word echoed in the bathroom as Balthazar gasped in horror at his friend.

Cas was covered in red soup, but even under it they could see burns beginning to form. Snapping into action, Dean tore off his jacket, and letting it fall to the floor, he slipped off his T-shirt. Running over to the sink, he wet it, and began to softly wipe off the soup from Cas' skin.

Cas gave a hiss of pain, but otherwise didn't give any indication he felt what Dean was doing. Once he could see the skin, Dean sighed in relief, and heard a similar one from Balthazar. Sure, the skin was red and some would probably blister, but his face at least didn't show more severe damage. However, that was only a small part of the affected area.

"Cas. Can you hear me?" Dean said softly, in hopes of not startling the already distressed boy.

He received a nod in return. Dean looked over at Balthazar, who also nodded, before continuing.

"Cassie, we need to take of your clothes. We need to check the damage."

Another nod.

Lifting his arms up and pulling the sweater off was no easy feat. Cas whimpered as it went over his head, it was slightly sticking to the T-shirt underneath. They pulled that off too, and cast them aside. They once again sighed in relief. Thankfully, the sweater, being as thick as it was, absorbed most of the soup, stopping direct contact with his skin. However, it had still left red, painful looking marks on his chest.

"We need to get him to the school nurse." Dean stated, reaching to pick him up.

Balthazar stopped him. Placing a hand on his arm. " No, the regular ones on holiday until Tuesday, and there's no way Cas would be comfortable with a stranger. My car is in the closest parking lot, if we carry him there, I can take him home and treat him properly."

Dean nodded in understanding. " Okay," he turned to Cas, " we need to lift you up now Cas, so take a deep breath."

He did, and gently, Dean and Balthazar lifted him up. Grabbing the soup stained clothes on the way, they left the bathroom, and with everyone in the hall watching, they carried him outside to Balthazar's car, where they sat him in the back seat. Throwing the clothes in, Dean noticed that they had forgotten Cas' bag and book.

Balthazar noticed too. He opened his mouth to speak, but Dean cut him off. " I'll bring his bag and stuff by later, just get him home and take care off him."

Balthazar looked at him, and sighed. " What are you going to do Dean?"

" Something I should've done in the first place." With that, Dean left the car park, and walked back into the building.

/not the end of flashback/

"WINCHESTER!" Stan's voice filtered through the hall just as Dean entered.

"Crawford you bitch, just the man I wanted to see!" Dean shouted back, making his way to the jock who stood at the end of the hall near the principle's office. Stan smirked. " We had a deal Winchester." \

Dean glared. " Yeah. We did. And you broke it. Otherwise Cas wouldn't have been attacked back there."

" A simple accident. The soup fell, it was out of my control. However, you helped him. You broke the deal. And now, no more protection for your little boyfriend."

Dean lunged forward, and punched Stan in the face. Grabbing him before he fell down, he swung him around until he hit the wall. Dean gripped Stan's throat.

"Listen to me you cocky son of a bitch. I know you planned that. That Naomi skank you had start it, nice cover, you know, if I hadn't seen you two sucking face every chance you got the past week. But just know, I'm onto you. And if you touch one more hair on Cas' head I will end you!" He growled. Stan looked behind Dean's shoulder, and smirked.

"Stan?" A harsh authoritative voice asked. The door to the principle's office closed.

" Yeah dad?" Another smirk.

" Whose this?" Dean let go, and Stan laughed and punched him on the arm.

" This is my new friend Dean, I've been teaching him self defence, he's a fast learner."

"That's my boy. Always helping others, just like his old man." The man raised his hand for Dean to shake. Dean hid his glare, the man continued. " I'm Captain Fergus Crawford. It's always nice to meet my son's friends."

"Dean Winchester." He shook the man's hand.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go file a report, I was called because someone broke Naomi Watkins nose. Would you believe that?" Fergus said, before turning to leave. " Bye son, be good."

" Bye dad." Once his father left, Stan turned and glared at Dean, smirk gone.

"Touch a hair on poor Cas' head. Me? Never. After all, my father's the captain of the Hamilton police station. I've been taught morals, Don't hit disabled people, and what was that other one? Oh that's right. Don't hit girls. I guess your Dad didn't teach you that did he." Stan said, pushing past Dean and walking down the hall. " Later Winchester."

The bell for class rang, and Dean was left alone with his thoughts.

/End flash back/

"Yes sir. Stan and I are great buddies." Dean replied in a stiff voice.

"Well then. Carry on," turning to Gabriel, " I'll be in my office. Find those kids Detective, or I'll put you on phone duty."

" Yes sir."

The captain left. Gabriel turned to Dean.

" Dean, this is an official statement. Now tell me, what did you see?" Voice professional.

Dean took a deep breath. Last chance to back down Dean. Say you don't remember, and no one will think you're crazy. You coul- no. this was Sammy. He needed to tell the truth.

" A dead man, dressed in what looked like tights, stole all the children."

Gabriel sighed, looked down at his empty clip board, and looked at Dean.

"You can go now Dean."

Sighing, Dean stood up, and left, making his way out of the police station, and began to walk home.

/not a flash back/

The door opened, and Dean stepped inside. The hallway was dark. Closing the door, he walked down, and turned on the lights. Walking into the kitchen, he froze. There, sitting at the kitchen table, was his father. An angry father. An angry, apparently hungover father. Well shit.

"Hi dad." And no, Dean did not stutter, because Dean Winchester does not stutter, He simply repeats a syllable.

His father's jaw twitched. Oh crap. Dean knew he shouldn't have made the hour or so detour to the park on his way home. But he had needed to clear his head.

" Where have you been?" Not the dangerously calm voice. Dean you really screwed up this time.

" School..." Was Dean's hesitant reply.

"Do I look like I'm stupid Dean. The school called, asking if you and Sam were home. So answer me truthfully. Where _were_ you?" John looked at Dean expectantly.

Dean gulped. This was it. His dad would find out just how much of a failure he was. He was gonna hate him. He'd lost Sammy.

He took a deep breath. " I was at the police station." He waited for the explosion.

There wasn't one... yet.

" Why?" Was his response.

" Dad please, I'm sorry I-"

"I'm being very patient here Dean. Why were you at the police station."

" I lost Sammy..."

"WHAT!" There it was. Despite knowing it was coming, Dean felt nothing but shame and fear. He wasn't prepared for this.

" Last night he and all the other kids disappeared..."

"LAST NIGHT! SAM WENT MISSING AND YOU DIDN"T FUCKING TELL ME!" John bellowed. Dean cringed.

"I'm sorry, you were passed out on the cou-"

"YOU SHOULD'VE WOKEN ME UP! IT'S MY SON. He's more important to me than anything. You know that."

Dean ducked his head. " I know dad. I'm sorry."

" You're sorry what?"

"I'm sorry Sir."

"Exactly. Now what have you been doing to try and find him?" His father questioned.

"I went to the police station and gave a report and the-"

"So you did nothing? Typical. I should never have trusted you with looking after Sam. You always screw things up. I mean, who was I kidding, you can't even read."

Dean's jaw twitched but he said nothing. That wasn't good enough.

"Well. Are you gonna answer me boy, or can you not speak either?"

"I'm sorry sir. I should've tried harder."

"Yes Dean. You should've tried harder, you should always try harder, maybe then you wouldn't screw up so much."

It felt like a punch to the stomach. Actually no, it felt worse. Dean knew he was a screw up, everyone told him so, except Sam... and Gabriel.

Dean's earlier conversation with the detective flashed through his head, and Dean uttered something he probably shouldn't have.

"It was out of my control. It wasn't my fault."

John looked at him. " What did you just say boy?"

Dean snapped.

" There was nothing else I could do. I tried my hardest to save Sam, I did the best I could, and don't you, you who drinks himself to sleep so much he doesn't even look after his own kids, judge me! CAUSE I'M MORE OF A FATHER TO SAMMY THEN YOU ARE!" He took a deep breath, and his shoulders relaxed...

SMACK.

Dean recoiled, a flash of pain, and then nothing but numbness. His lip was bleeding and his entire cheek and jaw hurt. His father stood before him, anger filling his face.

" Don't you dare say that to me you little bitch. I've looked after you my entire life, I feed you, put a roof over my head, so you are not allowed to say that to me you defective little bastard. What good is a son who can't even read coordinates on a map. Can't even read a simple sentence, let alone actually be smart enough to write one properly. You're a failure, and I'm ashamed to say you're my son, because I good son would never lose his little brother. He would protect him with his dying breath. You're pathetic." John spat before leaving the room, and house, slamming the door on his way out.

Dean tried... he did. But as he sat there, alone with his thoughts, his father's disappointment echoing around him, the loss of his brother... the sudden reappearance of Castiel in his life. For the first time in a long time, Dean cried.

/

There was a knock at the front door. Standing up from his spot on the kitchen floor, Dean first splashed water on his face, wiping it in an attempt to look as though he hadn't been crying for an hour. Another knock sounded through the house, and Dean left the kitchen and walked down the hall to the front door. Opening it hesitantly, his eyes widened, It couldn't be.

Opening the door completely, Dean stood in shock. There was Cas, standing on the doorstep, breathing heavy. He had his favourite book in his arms, still stained ever so slightly on the spine from tomato soup.

"Castiel, why are you here?" Dean couldn't bring himself to call him Cas in person now. He didn't deserve to.

In true Castiel form, the boy took no notice of Dean's puffy eyes, now slightly bruised cheek and jaw, and tear stained face. Instead, he puffed out something Dean hadn't expected.

" I know who took the kids." Castiel said, voice breathless. He must've run the entire way from the police station.

"What? How? Who?" Was Dean's elegant response.

Castiel held up the long suffering book of fairy tales.

" It took me a while, because some things didn't fit the classic version, but there are too many similarities to just ignore, so I began to think, what if the classic version was wrong, what if-"

Dean held up his hand. "Castiel! One sentence answers, please."

Castiel sighed. " The thing that took the kids. I know who it was."

" Yeah yeah, you said that. But who, or what?" Dean replied, voice getting impatient.

"It was the Pied Piper."

Dean stared, stared, and then stared some more.

" Well shit."

It really was a strange day.

/

**Author's note: HEY GUYS! Sorry it's been a while. Anyway, I hope you liked it. Or even if you want to kill me. Please, leave a review. **


	6. Chapter 6

**HELLO! I HAVE ARISN FROM THE GRAVE CALLED HOMEWORK AND YEARLY EXAMS!And I would like to say, please don't kill me, unless that involves leaving a review, in which case go ahead. So I would like to apologise for the wait. But here it is. Chapter six...**

Chapter Six: People Are Strange

"Well shit," was all that came out of Dean's mouth, and for a second, Castiel let himself hope. Maybe, just maybe Dean believed him, and maybe, they could do something about it. Be the heroes of their own fairytale. If they saved the kids, then maybe people would see as something more than a freak for once. That hope was crushed by his next words.

" You are crazy." The door slammed shut in his face. His face fell. He knew it. It was too good to be true. Why should Dean believe him anyway. He _was_ a freak. A freak going around saying that fairy tales were real and that monsters did in fact exist. He would shut the door in his face too. He didn't even know how he knew what he suspected was true. So why should Dean believe him?

A rumble of thunder echoed around him, and Castiel turned to stare at the sky. Nothing but grey angry clouds. Sighing he began to walk away from the door, when he felt something wet touch the back of his neck. It was raining. Of course. Just when his day couldn't get worse, he had to be wet too. If he caught a cold he would-

_It had been raining last night. Last night Dean had been there... Talking to him... Dean had seen it..._

Running back the way he had come, he practically launched himself on the front door of the Winchester residence. Knocking as hard as he could, he tired to contain his excitement. Dean would have to believe him. He would.

"Dean!" He shouted through the door.

"Go away Castiel. I don't want to play pretend right now." Was the reply.

" It rained last night."

"What of it? It rains all the time, so what if it rained last night." It was so quiet Castiel barely heard it.

"But then it went away, just like that. And no one else knew it rained. But you know. You just admitted it. You were there last night. I know you were, we talked! Why were we both out there? Why were any of the kids out there in the first place? It's strange and you know it."

The door opened. Castiel continued.

" You told my cousin that you saw a dead man in tights take the kids. I heard you."

Dean's eyes widened. " I didn't think you were paying attention. You looked like you were in your own world."

"I look like that a lot of the time, as such, I hear a lot of things I'm not supposed to, but that's beside the point. Because Dean. I saw a dead guy too."

Dean looked wary. "You did?"

"Yes. Except Gabriel wouldn't believe me. Just like he didn't believe you. But I do. Because I was there. I know you tried to save your brother Dean. And I think if we work together, we can get him back."

Indecision and uncertainty crossed Dean's face. Castiel waited with bated breath.

"What did you say this thing was again?"

Castiel's heart leapt, and he almost shouted the answer.

"The Pied Piper."

"The guy with the flute?"

"Actually, in the original he had bag pipes. I don't know where the flute came into it. Possibly when it was reintroduced into western culture they switche-"

"I get the point Cas, they changed the instrument to suit the fact that bag pipes weren't commonly seen or used in America at the time."

Castiel just stared.

"Don't look at me like that Cas, I pay attention in class on occasion. Now, how do we get Sam and the rest of them back?"

Castiel froze. He hadn't gotten that far in the thought process. He'd actually gotten Dean to consider the possibility that this was real. That monsters were real... and now he was stumped. Also... Dean had called him Cas. Twice. He hadn't spoken to him for almost two years before last night... and up until just then he hadn't gone back to his old nickname for him. He probably didn't even realise he had slipped back into old patterns. But Castiel had.

Instead of bringing it up, and potentially causing Dean to revert back to calling him 'Castiel' in that detached way of his, Castiel ignored it, and instead tried to answer Dean's question. What could they do to get them back? Well... they would need information, that was for sure.

"Research. We need to do research. The library has a whole section of fairytale lore. They're bound to have some information on the Pied Piper that my books don't have."

Dean looked slightly apprehensive at the thought of it, and it showed once again in his voice.

"Reading?"

"Well yes, research would require some reading Dean. Come on, it's already getting late, and we've already wasted a lot of time. Who knows what's happening to them right now." Castiel said, and expecting Dean to follow, stepped away from the door and began to walk into the rain, seemingly indifferent to the water pouring down on him.

"Wait, it's pouring, and who knows how much time we'll waste walking there. Lets drive." Dean called out to the practically drowning boy.

" You have a car?"

"I'm almost eighteen dude, my dad gave me his to use when he isn't."

Dean just prayed his father hadn't taken it when he left.

Beckoning for Castiel to follow him, he made his way back into the house and sighed in relief as he saw the car keys on the table. With a glance over his shoulder, Dean confirmed that yes, Castiel was following him. Making his way to the inside garage door, he avoided the open tool box out the front, and opened the door. There she was.

His baby.

Heading towards the glossy, black car, Dean shot a grin behind him. Castiel smiled hesitantly back. Dean gave him a once over, and his grin left, face suddenly serious. "Get baby's seats wet and I'll end you."

SPN/SPN/SPN/SPN/SPN

The trip to the library was uneventful, unless of course you count the numerous arguments about music selection, the fact that Castiel was dripping wet, and a heated discussion on where the library actually was. After Dean had gotten lost the first two times, it was the rain that made him confused, honest.

"So, what exactly are we trying to find coming here Cas?" Dean had asked in that obnoxious way of his the moment they entered the library. Castiel shot him a glare.  
"If you had listened to me on the way here instead of insisting we listen to that noise you call music you would know wouldn't you." He said before marching off to the fiction section of the library, shoes squeaking as he went.

Dean, in his defence let the jab at his musical tastes go, and simply followed the puddle trail to where he was supposed to go. They were on a time limit of course. He'd simply wait for another day to educate the clearly delusional kid properly. However, once he got there, he did not expect to have a pile of slightly damp, musty books shoved into his arms, the kid in question shooting him a glare warning him not to protest.

With a sigh, Dean carried his pile over to the nearest table, and placing them down on its hard surface. Collapsing into the chair next to it, he grabbed the book on the top of the pile, took a look at the cover and sighed again. Well Dean, he thought, looks like the past seventeen years of your life haven't been a lie and you don't suddenly have the ability to read. What the hell was he supposed to do now? Go up to Cas, the smarty pants he was, and say 'look dude, I'd love to help and all, but I can't read. Maybe if you politely asked the words to stop moving I could actually be useful for once.' Yeah right. That would work.

But it was Sammy. He had to try. It was a kids book after all. They had pictures right? He could go off that. With a new sense of optimism, Dean flipped through the book, stopping only to try and decipher the titles, and examine the pictures. He got to about the fiftieth page, (only half way through, what kind of kids book had more than fifty pages?) when he stopped. Right there, on the left hand side, was an old drawing of what looked to be a living version of the dead guy he saw the night before. Rubbing sleep out of his eyes, he looked closer, and stared determinedly at the bold letters above it. Eventually he was rewarded with one word. "Piper." He could work with that. How many stories had the word "piper" in the title.

"Hey Cas, I think I found it." Getting out of his chair, Dean made his way to the table the still soaking kid had sat down at, and placed the book in front of him.

"That's him," he pointed at the picture, " that's the guy I saw take Sammy. Ugly green tights and all."

Castiel smiled, " great job Dean, you've managed to discover something incredibly important."

"Really?" Dean asked, slightly confused, but happy that despite not being able to read, he'd managed to do something right.

"Yes, we now know what it is. Again. Thank you for your effort, but we have a time constraint here, so maybe a little more than what it is might be helpful. Did you even read the story, or just stop at the picture?"

Dean recoiled like he'd been slapped. This wasn't like Cas. Cas wasn't mean? Was he?

Dean had actually thought he'd helped then, but no. He'd just proved something that he'd already known. That he really couldn't do anything right, not even something as basic as reading. A kid could read this. But he couldn't...

Stepping away from Cas, he sat down at his table, taking the book back with him. He would do this. He would read this story and he would read it line by line to Castiel and show him just how helpful he was.

Focusing on the book again, he tried to make sense of the jumble of letters and shapes. He did it before, admittedly on a slightly smaller scale, but he did. He could do it again. Only... couldn't. Dean stared. And stared, and then stared some more, willing the words to float back on the page and stay still for just a few seconds so he could figure out what they were meant to be. He rubbed his eyes again. He was getting a headache.

"Dean?"

His head shot up. Cas was staring at him, light concern in his eyes.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Cas." He was getting irritated.

"Are you sure? You don't appear to be well." Oh now he gets all perceptive. Great, just great. Of course he wouldn't have been perceptive enough to see the raw honesty and regret in his eyes all those years ago when he begged for forgiveness. When he said he was sorry a thousand times, that he didn't mean it and could they please be friends again. No. of course he wouldn't see it then. Only now, in his moment of weakness. Well Dean was tired of it. Of his father, of losing Sammy, on dead guys in tights, of stupid, ignorant ex best friends and of not being able to fucking read.

"I can't read." He almost yelled, only just barely remembering that yes, he was in a library, a place that was meant to be quiet. Castiel stared.

" What do you mean you can't read?" Of course. He was curious. What on earth could make a seventeen, almost eighteen year old not be able to read?

" I mean I can't read. I try," No, Dean's voice was not shaking. "I try so hard sometimes, but the letters, the words, they just move around the page, and I can't read them. Funny right. An seventeen year old whose failing all his classes except P.E simply because he can't do something five year olds can do. It's like a bad movie."

Dean waited for the laughter. For the jokes. For the insults and abuse... but none came. Instead, Cas' face lit up in understanding, and Dean still waited. This never happened when he told people. At all his other schools, they'd laughed at him if he told. The teachers moving him to lower classes until he hit the bottom, never helping him. And if one did, they'd end up moving anyway. This was where they'd stayed the longest, there was a military base near here, and that's where his father worked. He'd gotten a permanent position there, and so they were able to stay. And Dean was grateful. For Sam. He loved it here.

"So when you say they move around, do they kind of float? And do some letters especially get mixed up?" Castiel's voice broke through Dean's thoughts, and he was left staring at his face... full of understanding. How could he know?

"Yeah... they do actually." Dean finally replied, voice wary.

"I think maybe I know what it is. I'm not a doctor of course, and it's always best to get properly diagnosed first but." For once, Castiel cut himself off. " I think you have Dyslexia Dean."

Dean felt the breath leave him. It had a name? If it had a name, then he wasn't the only one with it. He wasn't alone. Other people knew what he knew, felt what he felt. Wait, how did Cas know? Did he have it? He seemed to be able to read fine... was there a way to get help? Could Dean read too?

"Do you have it?" The words left Dean's mouth before he could stop them.

"No. I was lucky in that sense I guess." Castiel's reply was solemn, as though he didn't really believe it.

"Then how do you know?"

Castiel sighed. "I have Aspergers Syndrome Dean. I'm lucky to only have a reasonably mild case, as you might have noticed I'm not that great when it comes to socialising," he laughed. " I mean, how could you not. It's so obvious. And I hate touch. And things being out of place... and touch my trench coat and you die, but I could be a lot worse. Anyway. Most people with what I have, they usually have Dyslexia as well, so they asked me a lot about it. I don't have it though... just really, really clumsy."

Dean remembered a time when Cas didn't have a trench coat... before he hurt him... now the kid wore it like a security blanket. But overall, it made a lot of sense. Dean had noticed a lot of things about Cas over the years. And it was nice to know why. But this... he couldn't help but feel giddy. Someone knew what he was going through. Many some ones if it had a name as fancy as 'Dyslexia'. That meant maybe he could get help. It was a relief. Sure, he was a freak, but at least he wasn't alone.

"You have no idea how good it feels to have a vague idea of why I'm like this Cas. Or maybe you do. To be honest, I'd always just assumed I was defective or something."

wait. _Defective._ Defective. There was that word again. It had been in his head so much since last night, like it had been branded into it or something. He saw Cas freeze at the word too. It wasn't just him.

"That thing. The Pied Piper or whatever it is... it told me something before it took Sammy." Dean confessed. He saw Cas lean in closer, despite the tables between them. Dean continued. " It told me I was defective."

Castiel inhaled sharply. " It told me that too. What does it mean..."

Dean kept quiet. Was that the link? That they both had something wrong with them? Could that be it? But why would it care if there was something wrong with them? What did it matter? Unless it was doing something with the bodies of the kids why would it-

" Cas. It told us we were defective. We both have problems. Mental problems. No denying it. But why would it care? Unless it wants something with the brains, with the bodies of the kids. What if that's why it took them...?"

Cas looked over at him, and Dean felt his heart stop at the sudden comprehension in them. It made sense... Dean paled.

Sammy.

To be continued...

SPN/SPN/SPN/SPN

Hey guys. Sorry for taking so long to update, I really am. Sorry it's also shorter than the last one. I promise I'll update the next chapter a lot quicker than this one.

Please review.

-Vampires Do NOT Sparkle.


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